Germany's largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland has doubled the speed of its fastest Internet service enabling cable customers in Mainz to surf the net with a data rate of 200Mbps as part of a trial.

"Once more, we have shown at Kabel Deutschland the powerfulness of our infrastructure based on fibre optic and coaxial cable. And with 200Mbps, we have not yet reached the limit," CEO Adrian von Hammerstein said. The highest data rate offered previously was 100Mbps.

The high speed service relies on the existing cable network, meaning that streets don't have to be dug up.

The technical foundation is the DOCSIS 3.0 standard which is already available in 90% of the households served by Kabel Deutschland. Up to 400Mbps would be possible, and the next stage DOCSIS 3.1 enables even higher data rates.

The package Internet & Telefon 200 which cable customers can now sign up for in Mainz offers an upload data rate of 12Mbps alongside the 200Mbps download speed. The monthly subscription price is €39.90 in the first year and €59.90 thereafter. The minimum contract period is 24 months. Besides the flat-rate Internet access, the package also contains a telephone line with free calls to German landlines.